JP3187310U - Vacuum drying processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

Depressurized drying process used to form a coating film on a substrate in a photolithography process or the like and suppresses an increase in the amount of charge of the substrate after processing and prevents electrostatic breakdown of a product formed on the substrate Providing equipment.
A reduced-pressure drying apparatus 1 for drying a coating solution applied to a substrate G, which is formed on a substrate G when a reduced-pressure processing space 10 is subjected to a reduced-pressure drying process in the processing space 10. And a support portion 11 that supports the substrate G outside the region of the manufactured product.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a reduced-pressure drying apparatus that performs a reduced-pressure drying process on a substrate to be processed on which a coating solution is applied in order to form a coating film on the substrate to be processed in a photolithography process or the like.

  For example, in the manufacture of an FPD (flat panel display), a predetermined film is formed on a substrate to be processed (hereinafter referred to as a substrate) such as a glass substrate, and then a photoresist (hereinafter referred to as a resist) which is a processing liquid. ) Is applied to form a resist film, the resist film is exposed in accordance with the circuit pattern, and this is developed, so that a circuit pattern is formed by a so-called photolithography process. In the resist film forming step, after applying a resist to the substrate, a reduced pressure drying process is performed in which the applied film is dried by reduced pressure drying.

  Conventionally, for example, a reduced-pressure drying apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is used as an apparatus for performing a reduced-pressure drying process. In the reduced-pressure drying process, first, a substrate having a coating solution coated on the surface is placed on the placement unit. Next, the lid is lowered to a position where it comes into contact with the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the mounting portion, and a processing space that accommodates the substrate is formed by the lid and the mounting portion. Thereafter, the coating liquid is dried by reducing the pressure in the processing space, and a coating film is formed on the surface of the substrate.

JP 2002-239441 A

  In the reduced-pressure drying apparatus, the reduced-pressure drying process is performed in a state where the back surface of the substrate is in full contact with the surface of the mounting portion. However, during the reduced-pressure drying process, the amount of charge on the substrate after the reduced-pressure drying process increases due to friction between the substrate and the mounting portion, and the product formed on the substrate may be electrostatically damaged.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and provides a reduced-pressure drying apparatus capable of suppressing an increase in the amount of charge of a substrate after the reduced-pressure drying process.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to the present invention supports a substrate outside a region of a product formed on the substrate when performing a reduced-pressure drying process in the processing space that can be depressurized. And a supporting portion.

  According to the reduced-pressure drying apparatus of the present invention, the contact area between the substrate and the support part that supports the substrate can be reduced, so that an increase in the amount of charge of the substrate after the reduced-pressure drying process can be suppressed, and the product formed on the substrate Can be prevented.

It is sectional drawing which shows the example of 1 structure of the reduced pressure drying processing apparatus concerning this invention. It is a stage top view in the said vacuum drying processing apparatus. It is a top view which shows the positional relationship of a board | substrate and the support part of a board | substrate in this invention.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a vacuum drying apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The vacuum drying processing apparatus 1 includes a stage 2 and a lid 3. Moreover, the reduced pressure drying processing apparatus 1 has an elevating means for elevating the lid 3, for example, an air cylinder 4.

  The lid 3 is provided on the upper part of the stage 2. Then, the lid 3 can be lowered and brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the stage 2 to keep the processing space 10 inside thereof airtight.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view of the stage 2. Four exhaust ports 5 are provided near the corners of the stage 2. An exhaust pump (not shown) is connected to the exhaust port 5 so that the processing space 10 can be decompressed.

  Further, on the upper surface of the stage 2, a support portion 11 that supports a substrate G that is a substrate to be processed is formed. The support portion 11 includes a pin-like support portion 8 made up of a plurality of support pins 6 and a belt-like support portion 7 made up of a belt-like support bar 9, and the substrate G is formed by the pin-like support portion 8 and the belt-like support portion 7. Is supported. The support pins 6 are arranged on the peripheral edge of the substrate G, and support the substrate G by making point contact of the upper end portion with the back surface of the substrate G. The diameter of the support pin 6 is, for example, 3 mm, the height of the upper end of the support pin 6 is, for example, 10 mm from the upper surface of the stage 2, and the upper end of the support pin 6 is formed in a curved shape. The support bar 9 is arranged in a band shape from one end of the substrate G to the other end, and supports the substrate G by bringing the upper end surface into surface contact with the back surface of the substrate G. The width of the support bar 9 is, for example, 10 mm, and the height of the upper end of the support bar 9 is, for example, 10 mm from the upper surface of the stage 2. The pin-shaped support portion 8 (support pin 6) may be fixed to the stage 2 or may be detachable from the stage 2 so that the attachment position can be changed. The belt-like support portion 7 (support bar 9) can be easily attached to and detached from the stage 2, and the attachment position of the belt-like support portion 7 can be easily changed.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the substrate G, the pin-like support portion 8 and the belt-like support portion 7. FIG. 3 shows an example in which four products P are created from one substrate G. The product P is, for example, a portion in which a circuit pattern is formed on a surface that becomes a final product by dividing the substrate G after processing.

  The pin-shaped support portion 8 is disposed outside the region of the product P and so as to support the peripheral edge of the substrate G. The position of the belt-like support portion 7 is determined based on the region of the product P formed on the substrate G, and is disposed so as to support the vicinity of the center of the substrate G outside the region of the product P. As described above, by supporting the substrate G with the pin-shaped support portion 8 and the belt-shaped support portion 7, the area (contact area) for supporting the substrate G is reduced as compared with the conventional case. Since the area for supporting the substrate G is reduced, static electricity generated by friction between the substrate G and the support portion 11 during the drying under reduced pressure can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the charge amount of the substrate G after the vacuum drying process. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the product P formed on the substrate G from being electrostatically destroyed.

  Moreover, since the support part 11 (the pin-shaped support part 8 and the strip-shaped support part 7) is arrange | positioned so that the area | region of the product P may be supported, the pin-shaped support part 8 and the strip-shaped support part 7 of a decompression drying process are carried out. There is no possibility that a mark will be generated in the region of the product P.

  Next, the operation of the vacuum drying apparatus 1 according to the present invention will be described. First, the substrate G coated with a coating solution, for example, a photoresist, is placed on the support portion 11 with the lid 3 raised. Thereafter, the lid 3 is lowered and brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the stage 2 to form a processing space 10 containing the substrate G. Next, the processing space 10 is decompressed through the exhaust port 5, and the decompressed state is maintained for a predetermined time. Thereafter, the processing space 10 is returned to the same pressure as the outside, and then the lid 3 is raised. Thereafter, the substrate G on which the coating liquid is dried and the coating film is formed is unloaded from the support portion 11, and the decompression drying process of the substrate G is completed.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications or changes can be made within the scope of the technical idea.

  For example, in the present embodiment, an example in which four products P are created from one substrate G has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, when nine products P are created from one substrate G, the attachment position of the belt-like support portion 7 is changed, and the belt-like support portion 7 is rearranged so as to support the outside of the area of the nine products P. . In this way, even when four products P are produced from one substrate, even when nine products P are produced from one substrate, which are different from the four products P, for example, the reduced-pressure drying process is performed. There is no possibility that traces of the pin-like support portion 8 and the belt-like support portion 7 will be generated in the region of the product P later.

  Moreover, you may arrange multiple strip | belt-shaped support parts 7 instead of one. Even when a plurality of belt-like support portions 7 are arranged, the position of the belt-like support portion 7 is preferably arranged so as to support the outside of the region of the product P.

  Moreover, the support part 11 is not restricted to the case where it comprises the pin-shaped support part 8 and the strip | belt-shaped support part 7, You may comprise only the pin-shaped support part 8 or only the strip | belt-shaped support part 7. FIG. When the support part 11 is composed of the pin-like support part 8 and the belt-like support part 7, the peripheral edge of the fixed substrate G is supported by the pin-like support part 8 whose position is fixed, while the number and positions of the products P are supported. Alternatively, it may be supported by a belt-like support portion 7 whose position can be changed according to the shape.

  Further, a delivery means (not shown) for delivering the substrate G to the support portion 11 (pin-like support portion 8 and belt-like support portion 7), for example, a substrate transfer robot or the like may be provided, and the vacuum drying process is performed more efficiently. It is possible.

  The coating solution in the present invention is not limited to a photoresist, but may be a coating solution such as an interlayer insulating material, a dielectric material, and a wiring material. Further, the substrate to be processed in the present invention is not limited to an FPD substrate, but may be a semiconductor wafer, a CD substrate, a photomask, a printed substrate, or the like.

G substrate P product 1 vacuum drying treatment device 2 stage 3 lid 6 support pin 7 band-like support portion 8 pin-like support portion 9 support bar 10 treatment space 11 support portion

Claims (4)

A vacuum drying apparatus for drying a coating liquid applied to a substrate,
A depressurized processing space;
A reduced-pressure drying apparatus having a support portion for supporting the substrate outside the region of the product formed on the substrate when the reduced-pressure drying process is performed in the processing space. The support part is
A pin-like support portion comprising a plurality of support pins that support the periphery of the substrate outside the area of the product formed on the substrate;
The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a belt-like support portion formed of a belt-like support bar that is supported outside the region of the product formed on the substrate and from one end of the substrate toward the other end.   The reduced-pressure drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position of the belt-like support part is freely changeable. The reduced-pressure drying apparatus is
Stage,
A lid,
The lid and the peripheral edge of the stage are brought into contact with each other, and a processing space is formed in an airtight manner therein,
The reduced pressure drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the support portion is provided on the stage.

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